meganoth

Since we are just players and forum users like you we don't need to help either, we could just choose to ignore you 😉 But anyway: You seem to start the game with "-force-feature-level-10-0". Did you set that in steam? If yes, maybe remove it. An error message just before the crash seem to indicate that some capability of the graphics driver is not available to the game. If that is not the problem then it might be a good idea to start the launcher of the game, change to the tools tab and clean your settings.

I think initially it was said to be 1 day per jar, but looking into the XML it seems now to be between 6 and 10 in game hours per jar, which means on average the dew collector is full after just one day. Ok, if you want the maximum out of it it actually is a daily chore.

Ah, ok. Well, TFP's "story" is that A) most of the systems in the game were placeholders they had to include first so they had a workable game for Early Access and B) that they use EA for real alpha development (where actually experiments and redesigns seem to be quite normal) and their development method is heavily on the side of experimentation. I think they never said it, but my impression from watching the development over the years is that their goal nr.1 is that they want an original game, i.e. one with features and mechanics that do not mirror other games. A player can be sad about it when he feels there are concepts out there that have proven effective, or he can be happy because he gets something different to play than elsewhere. But the thing is, to make something original and make it work you have to experiment, a lot. Copycats have it easier and develop faster.

Since INT (AFAIK) was designed to be not a combat centric atttribute it rewards players by investing in utility or money-centric perks first. I am not surprised. You think players will feel their perk points affecting their game play when they can buy the water filter earlier than other players because they simply get more money out of the quests? 🤔 😉 It doesn't need to be as subpar, but what is the reason for it to be stronger? I mean, TFP would need to design a complete new weapon line for a weapon whose damage or effectivity at killing zombies has to be less than (effectivity T3 weapon - effectivity 1 turret). I don't think that can be very far from an unperked weapon, if it is stronger at all. Again there are other posters here on the forum already claiming INT to be the new meta. Someone even calls it the new baseline to just go with better barter and daring adventurer as fast as you can. INT was never weak, it was just slightly weaker in combat. You want INT to be like all the others. I don't want that. I want INT to be special.

I am sure the novice players will ultimately speak for themselves. They turn up instantly in the forum and on steam as soon as the stable is out. And inevitably (like in every alpha before) TFP will tune down difficulty quite a few steps. It often feels like experimental is the goodie for the veterans and then the multiple stable versions are tuned again to novice players as they enter the "tuning arena" That is not the baseline, that is already optimized play. I don't see any reason why a new (or old) player can't just play any attribute and be happy with it. I would guess most new players will first distribute their points all over (including better barter, but also clubs probably). But then they will notice that the costs increase for the second point in a perk and eventually specc into the attribute that governs the best weapon they found or a weapn they like. Which usually won't be INT Yes, at the moment doing quests is not optional at the start because without them you have a very hard time getting the money together if you want a filter in the first few days. But the game leads you to a trader and your options there aren't in the hundreds but there are just two options I would assume everyone tries out even if he is new to the game: Buy/sell stuff or get a quest. And they will immediately experience that they get money with doing quests. And they see that the first workstation they can craft will always be the one they want most at the time and that it costs money. There are big flashing signs for the novice player right there to do some quests. What they probably will have a harder time with is how to get food and water early in the game. Part of the fun learning process we veterans can never experience again. And there is a safety net already in the game. The player is factually immortal. I agree somewhat with the workstation magazines but even workstations can be bought at the trader. There is good and bad in the randomness of recipe learning: BAD: You may be stuck without some essential item and have to work around it or feel like you have no other choice but just look for the magazines for it. GOOD: You may be stuck without some essential item and work around it 😉. Some people love different challenges each game GOOD: As recipe learning is automatic you may sometimes have to wait a long time but success is inevitable. GOOD: Player agency is sitll there in what you actually craft and where you specialize into, not what you can craft. Sure, with workstations there is no real decision, everyone wants every workstation. But with weapons, mods and traps the choice is still there. BAD: The sequence you get recipes IN a series is always the same, so in that regard the game feels predictable. GOOD: The sequence you get recipes IN a series is always the same, maybe beneficial for novices players?

How many experimental alphas have you witnessed with 7D2D? Just asking because I seem to remember that early and quite heavy-handed balancing in the experimental was the rule not the exception. Madmole explained once that he doesn't like small incremental balance steps and prefers a binary search approach, i.e. make a big change down that is sure to be too much, then half up again, all steps half the distance of the previous. Accordingly the players noticed something being too scarce, then too frequent, then slightly too scarce again. And this happened in all or almost all alphas I witnessed. And yes, they toss it out for us to do the ultimate playtesting. Most people are fine with that though, or at least they don't quit when they actually play experimental in an EA. Many players don't wait for the stable even though they would be spared the biggest imbalances and bugs. What I am saying this happened in every alpha. And I concluded that the devs and testers were probably just too "close" to the game to get a real feel of where the balance might be. And this alpha had 1.5 years time, but other recent alphas were close to that and at least a year as well, so they had practically the same time to balance it, A21 is not really special ------------------------------------------- @Lasher By the way, just interests me: Did you intent the third option (learn by magazine) to represent the current system in A21 or did you intend for it to be some new system where actually **skills** and not crafting alone were governed by magazines (i.e. like the description of the third option says) ?

Hey everyone: There is a poll here: https://community.7daystodie.com/topic/32143-poll-which-progression-system-did-you-prefer/ Please take a few seconds and vote.

This is so silly. TFP made the wasteland with better enemies+loot exactly for veterans like this youtuber so they have the choice to skip the novice-friendly normal progression and get on the fast track. In your version it sounds like the better loot in the wasteland was an undiscovered bug introduced by the janitor. 😁

Thank you for all the detail. It seems you have been getting lots of magazines, probably the amount that would be expected at that time. So not a bug. You say you can't build at the base because tools or items are missing. Which tools or items would that be exactly? If it is the cement mixer: Can't you work with cobblestone and upgrade later? Is it something else? You mentioned the bellows somewhere else but that can't be it as it is optional and can be substituted easily by building a second forge. Also I read your discussions with some posters and I noticed that you said that some of the scavengers would need to read magazines so they would find more of those same magazines. But that does not help at all, that was a false rumour. And to make sure I just looked at the XML and there is nothing that would increase loot change for magazines by reading those magazines. You need to put one or two points into the associated **perk** to get the boost to find more of those specific magazines. For example if you want to stay in the base and still have one looter find more "Forge Ahead" books tell him to just put one measly perk point into Lockpicking (and/or Advanced Engineering) and he will get that boost as well. Which perk is applicable is always listed in the description of the magazine. I mean lockpicking is even beneficial for a looter and it helps with finding "forge ahead" books just like Advanced Engineering, I don't think you would need much convincing there. Also, since you asked: Yes, the game officially supports 1 to 8 players, anything else is neither guaranteed nor balanced by TFP. No idea where it is written exactly, but that topic already came up a few times and this was always the official answer. It means that servers working with more players is not by design but because the game is flexible enough to work with more than 8 players. But especially balance can be wonky because nobody at TFP is testing those situation. Usually server operators adapt through modding, server scripts and adjusting options. For example I have heard that many server operators reset chunks from time to time so unlooted buildings and unwrenched cars resurface in already looted areas. And TFP also added a config option (default off) so chunks can auto-reset if not visited for a while.

Since they fill up in the same time as plants grow up the easiest option is to harvest them at the same time you harvest your farm plots (if you have any), i.e. only every 3 days.

The basic leveling didn't change, they overhauled how you learn crafting recipes.

Huh?

In A15/A16 when there were really big lakes I "liked" them for their map-dividing characteristic or for them providing "structure" to the map. You might see a city on the other side of the lake, but getting there was often not that easy. But I never needed them specifically for the water, especially after lots and lots of POIs with swimming pools and small ponds were added. But everyone has a different view about this. I'm just saying a need for them as water source was even in earlier alphas entirely in the eye of the beholder.

You could ask a new player (lots of them turn up in the forum and some say they are). Just ask him how much money he had on day 2. You would be surprised.

He might be saying that all survival games try to make the resources scarce (at least the ones that are in the game). And according to MM that was one of the reasons for this change. So water scarcity for the first 5 days is full survival game and drought simulator for you? To me it still feels like survival light. Even some of the critics have complained, I quote, "it is trivial"

You forgot to mention the other reasons for this change.

Can you explain why it is backing off and not simply balancing that was done?

Xpath is how you change the xml files without changing them 😁. The rest is trivial to find out: Where to put your files and what to call them you can easily find out by looking at some other mod.

It may be trivial to a veteran player but it isn't something you can just ignore. My group is at day 5 and we have enough to drink finally but not enough for our glue demand yet. And before that I was running around at 25% water and seriously avoiding combat because my stamina regen was low and we didn't find enough water in the POIs for the 4 of us. Then I bought a vitamin and filled myself up at a pond. And frankly that is all what TFP tried to accomplish. A problem to overcome in the first days and a solved problem afterwards. Getting enough to eat, getting a wrench, a beaker and a crucible are other built-in mini-quests you solve eventually. And I expect many new players to have a lot of problems with water and food at the start of the game.

Two posts I have never read in the forum: "gas cans disappearing after using them isn't very immersive or real feeling to me" "setting up a workbench, then having it produce stuff without anyone operating it is immersion breaking and just weird" What I am saying is that the invisible jars and the dew collector seem only strange because they are new. The game already had lots of invisible containers (for gasoline, acid, oil, ...) and machinery operating without operator and electricity. There may be some misunderstanding here: Water stacks up to 10 (like it did for a long time). So simply take a stack of 10 water with you when you go out 3 days. Better yet, make tea and take a stack of that with you

Help can be found in the "General Support" section. Be sure to read the thread that tells you to read it before posting

You did but hundreds of others had to pay for a filter. I think TFP is fine with the occasional hamster escaping the treadmill 😁

If a zombie got the first shot then he was better at stealth than you. 😁

What you want is a hardware store. Garages main boost would probably be for vehicle magazines.

The RPG-style progression was always "in the cards" for this game. If your goal in building is to survive the bloodmoon horde then cobblestone is quite on par with the horde you get at that time and not useless. And since it is upgradable it also isn't a dead-end. If your goal in building is artistic though you should turn on creative menu. The same goes if you are megalomaniac builder without time 😉